Recurring Illnesses Keep Trucker Off Road, In Debt

Recurring Illnesses Keep Trucker Off Road, In Debt
2/1/08
The Ledger, FL

LAKE WALES | For the better part of his 44 years, Mark Gregaitis paid scant attention to his pancreas. But then, who isn't that way?
It wasn't until last October that Gregaitis was made painfully aware of the tiny gland that manufactures insulin as well as enzymes essential for proper digestion.

What began as a gnawing stomach ache developed into a full-blown attack of acute pancreatitis, so painful that he became delirious, to use his own words.

"I remember the ambulance arriving, but that's the last thing I remembered," Gregaitis said.

The Lake Wales man would spend nearly two weeks at Lake Wales Medical Center, much of the time unaware of his surroundings. On day three his heart stopped, but physicians revived him, his medical records show.

"My pancreas and gall bladder just shut down," he said. "My blood sugar went crazy, and my body just gave up."

Released from the hospital on Oct. 31, Gregaitis had to deal with impaired speech and memory - a result, he said, of swelling of the brain.

But the symptoms soon went away and after several weeks he was ready to return to work, driving a truck for Moody Construction Services in Manatee County. The company makes steel products for industrial uses, including phosphate mining.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20080201/NEWS/802010439/1039
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